How to Investigate a “Verify Credit Profile” Charge and Cancel a Subscription

First, identify the business that runs the subscription. The name on your card or bank statement may help you match a charge to an account, receipt, email, or service you used.

Check the company’s account area, billing pages, help center, or contact options for cancellation instructions. Also check the original receipt or transaction record to determine who billed you. If the subscription was billed by Apple, cancel it through your Apple Account subscription controls; if it was billed through Google Play, cancel it in Google Play using the Google Account that holds the subscription. If the company provides cancellation instructions, follow them and keep a copy of the cancellation request. Apple subscription cancellation instructions Google Play subscription cancellation instructions

If you cannot find instructions, contact the company directly. State clearly that you want to cancel the subscription or membership. Keep notes of the date, contact method, representative’s name when available, and what you were told.

Use the cancellation method the company directs you to use. That may be an account form, email, chat conversation, phone contact, or another channel named in its instructions.

Save evidence as you go. Useful records include:

• •A screenshot of the completed cancellation screen.
• •A cancellation confirmation email.
• •A reference or confirmation number.
• •A copy of your cancellation message.
• •Notes from a phone call or chat, including the date and outcome.
• •A copy of the subscription terms available when you canceled.

The FTC recommends keeping a copy of your cancellation request and notes about conversations about canceling. Read the FTC’s recordkeeping advice

For example, if you submit an online form, save the confirmation page before closing it. If the company emails you later, keep that message with the original cancellation request. Clear records can help you explain the sequence of events if you later contact the company, card issuer, bank, or credit union.

Review the credit-card, debit-card, or bank-account statements used to pay for the subscription after you cancel. The FTC advises consumers to watch these statements for charges that appear after cancellation. Review the FTC’s monitoring guidance

If you see another charge or debit, compare its date and amount with your cancellation records. Keep a copy of the transaction and the cancellation confirmation. If you do not recognize the charge or debit, contact your bank or card provider immediately rather than waiting for a company response. If you recognize it as a post-cancellation charge, you can also contact the company, but keep your evidence and do not let that contact delay any issuer or bank dispute deadline.

A charge after cancellation may require different action depending on the payment method. Credit-card billing disputes have specific written-notice requirements. Automatic withdrawals from a bank account involve revoking payment authorization and separately ending the subscription.

For an unfamiliar or unauthorized credit-card charge, contact the card company right away. Do not wait for the merchant to respond. For a known charge that continued after cancellation, contact the card company promptly. Follow its dispute process if the issue is not resolved. To use the federal Regulation Z billing-error process, send a written billing-error notice. The issuer must receive it at its disclosed billing-error address within the deadline. That deadline is no later than 60 days after the issuer sent the first periodic statement showing the alleged error. Allow time for delivery: sending the notice alone does not meet this receipt deadline. Read CFPB Regulation Z billing-error requirements

Keep your cancellation evidence available and provide relevant records if the card issuer requests them. This may include the cancellation confirmation, a copy of the charge, and communications with the subscription company. Accurate records help you give a clear account of what happened.

The CFPB’s 60-day written-notice rule applies to qualifying Regulation Z billing-error notices, not every card dispute. Follow your card company’s current instructions for where and how to submit a dispute. A phone call can alert the issuer promptly, but for the Regulation Z process, the written billing-error notice must be received at the issuer’s disclosed billing-error address within the stated period. See CFPB Regulation Z billing-error requirements

If the subscription payment comes directly from your bank account, you can revoke the company’s authorization to take automatic payments. Follow up with the company in writing or by email. Then call your bank or credit union and state that you revoked authorization for the company to make automatic payments. If the debit is unfamiliar or unauthorized, notify your bank or credit union immediately rather than waiting for the company. Read CFPB guidance for stopping automatic payments

Be specific about your request. You may be canceling the subscription, changing the payment method, or revoking authorization for future bank debits. These are different account actions, so your message should make clear which action you want the company to take.

Keep a copy of each request, including emails, letters, account messages, and notes from calls. Record the date you contacted the company and the date you contacted your bank or credit union.

Stopping an automatic debit through your bank or credit union does not itself cancel the underlying subscription or contract. Cancel the subscription with the company separately. See the CFPB’s distinction between payment authorization and the underlying contract

If the company will not stop charging after you cancel, preserve all records and dispute the charge with your credit-card issuer when appropriate. For continued debit-card charges, the FTC also advises disputing the charge with the debit-card company. The FTC advises reporting subscription-cancellation problems and subscriptions you did not agree to. Read the FTC’s guidance on continued subscription charges

Do not rely only on a verbal conversation. A written request, confirmation message, or dated account record creates a clearer history if you need to explain the issue to the company, card issuer, bank, or credit union.